The Nine Lives of Pakistan

Dispatches from a Precarious State

By: Declan Walsh

Narrated by: Roger Clark

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals.

On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis - a chieftain readying for war at his desert fort, a retired spy skulking through the borderlands, and a crusading lawyer risking death for her beliefs, among others. Through these "nine lives" he describes a country on the brink - a place of creeping extremism and political chaos, but also personal bravery and dogged idealism that defy easy stereotypes.

Unbeknownst to Walsh, however, an intelligence agent was tracking him. Written in the aftermath of Walsh's abrupt deportation, The Nine Lives of Pakistan concludes with an astonishing encounter with that agent, and his revelations about Pakistan's powerful security state. Intimate and complex, attuned to the centrifugal forces of history, identity, and faith, The Nine Lives of Pakistan offers an unflinching account of life in a precarious, vital country.

©2020 Declan Walsh (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

One of the Best Books and Audiobooks

This was a gem of a listen. First the audio was awesome - great pace and great accent. I was trying to speak with the same accent for days. But more than the recording, the nine narratives were fascinating. They were intelligently written, diving direct into the Pakistani context with nuance, sensitivity, and much expertise. More books of this type and quality should be written! If you didn't know anything about Pakistan, this is a great start.

excellent audiobook

this audiobook well narrated and the book itself is well written thoughtful and informative

A Fascinating Look at a Troubled Country

A friend of mine from India once said to me that as a country Pakistan is an ongoing "basket case." I took this with a grain of salt given the well known enmity btween India and Pakistan. However, from what I had read now and then about Pakistan in the news and from what I had gathered from the bits and pieces that I'd seen on the internet, I had not run across any information to contradict my friend's assertion. So when I came across "The Nine Lives of Pakistan" I decided that this seemed a good book to test out what he professed as gospel.

Declan Welsh was a writer for the New York Times assigned to Pakistan for about a decade and has some indepth personal stories to share of this varied and colorful country. The nine lives referred to in the title reference nine different people who he encountered and with whom he had extensive interviews to the point of getting to know some of them seemingly somewhat well. A very colorful mix of individuals, to say the least.

What I came away with from having listened to this book is an appreciation for the great complexity of Pakistan society and the depth of the problems that the country faces, much of which was born with the chaotic birth of the country itself. And, I'm hesitant to say, I didn't hear anything to really convince me to think that my friend was incorrect in his assessment.

All-in-all, however, I quite enjoyed the book and am very glad to have had the opportunity to get to know this unique country and it's quirky and courageous people a bit better and to appreciate the truly significant challenges that it faces.

tour de force

Reportorial rather than academic, and better for it, connecting so many dots. Well written and fast-moving. Candid, critical and insighful, but also communicates Walsh's affection for the country and its complex story.

Packed with history & insights, good flow of the story

I didn’t realize how little I understood of Pakistan until I listened to this book. I must say though, it didn’t leave me optimistic about its future. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s problems don’t remain inside its borders. As to other comments about Roger Clark’s narration, I thought it was perfect for the book.

Excellent & Authentic

True Eye opener and gives you most indepth cultural insight on Pakistan one of the Best Books even published on Pakistan. A must read for ANY Foreigner interested in touring Pakistan or wanting to get a understanding of its culture and society with a backdrop of relegion and politics .

Terrible

Great book and great stories about Pakistan. The audio narration was terrible. Read the book instead.

Wait what was that?

What an awful performance from the voiceover. words I have known all my life I had to look up to make sure what he was pronouncing. Certainly, there was an eloquent South Asian or Pakistani out there that could have narrated this title and not left everyone in doubt when it came to words and names being pronounced.
The narrator kept has absolutely no sense of pronunciation when it comes to South Asian names and words. The names of towns and cities I have known all my life suddenly unrecognizable. Horrible!!!

Informative, revealing & honest... with a tinge of

It's an excellent book with a lot of revealing information, even for many Pakistanis. The author is clearly a subject matter expert on everything newsworthy about Pakistan. However, I have taken away a star for the condescending tone used much too frequently for my liking and a bit if racism or cultural bias trickled here and there (for e.g. the word "Jihad" only being referred to with its violence related connotations and the word "crusade" being used for perseverance , i.e. positive connotations).

I would have loved it even more if the author's resentment on being deported out of Pakistan had not reflected in his book so blatantly, which makes the reader doubt his impartiality to some extent.

The narration was just OK and would have been much better with a South Asian narrator, who would have been able to pronounce all the words correctly.

Enjoyable and informative . Lousy narrator

I really enjoyed this book . The style was very unique so will be understood easily by those who have a good idea off the background of Pakistan like me ,and those who know nothing about it.the author has researched the subject it very well and factually correct in every aspect with . He has a fantastic grasp of this very complicated country . I learned several more pieces of my own heritage after reading this book . The performance was terrible . I wish a narrator had been hired who had had some training and elocution . He also never bothered to look into the pronunciation off words that were obviously foreign to him. That was a complete turn off .The author should have read it himself